October

Forbes recently published a concise article on how real estate investing can help you become a Millionaire. Yes, there are plenty of folks making this claim, but I do like how this author augments it with counterarguments that it’s not for everyone. In other words, it is not easy. Doable, but not easy. Here’s the link to the article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonturner/2016/10/18/4-things-you-need-to-become-a-millionaire-through-real-estate-investing/#119bf80732b8 (Sidenote: If you’ve been a student in any of my courses for the Indiana Association of REALTORS (IAR) continuing education classes, MANY of his bullet points will look extremely familiar as we covered these in granular detail.)

Last week, we started discussing the early work to position yourself strongly for a tenant renewal scenario. (https://danbaldini.com/2016/10/24/treats-instead-of-tricks/) This week, let’s conclude the article. 1. The Approach Let’s assume you have one of two options for the renewal scenario: You plan on keeping the rent the same as in prior years or you plan on asking for a rental rate increase. Same rent scenario: This one is easier, but be prepared for the tenant to ask for a possible rent reduction or other concessions. Their argument could be as basic as,”Hey–you don’t have to search for a new tenant, so how about knocking $25 off our rent for the next year?” or “Hey–can you replace the carpet and we’ll agree to renew?” Whatever their request is….be prepared to know your numbers (i.e. profit margin) in order to know if you can do it or not. In addition, if the request […]

Landlords and Investors make money the same way airlines, hotels, and entertainment shows do–they keep butts in seats for as long as possible. For real estate, this means maximizing Days of Occupancy and correspondingly minimizing Vacancy Days. So this Fall let’s review some of the Best Practices to give your Tenants Treats instead of Tricks for their lease situation. 1. Advance Communication The saying, “Misery is the mismatch of expectations between two people”, holds true in rentals. If you are communicating with the tenants at the time of their initial lease signing that you’ll be recontacting them to begin discussing the possibility of renewing their lease 60-90 days before the lease ends, you’ve planted the seed early on that your not the kind of landlord who waits until the last minute for these conversations. Good for you. 2. Review of the Market Conditions Before you pick up that phone or begin […]

The rental market areas for Indianapolis and surrounding communities continues to maintain momentum into Fall 2016. Here’s the updated stats through August 2016. indy-rental-stats-ytd-through-august-2016 As always, if you have specific market questions or would like more in depth analysis and projections for your personal portfolio, just call or click.